Vikings basketball teams win 3 gold, 1 silver over weekend

This season, the senior boys have gone 6-1 overall in tournament play, with their only loss coming two weekends ago at the BowIt Classic, when they lost by just a single point in the round robin to Bishop James Mahoney. This weekend, they went 3-0 to win gold at the Centennial Classic, beating Tommy Douglas, Evan Hardy and Moose Jaw Central.

Head coach Jamie Sommerfeld believed the team has been successful so far this year because of both their skill and their drive to compete.

“We have a group of talented young men who want to be here,” Sommerfeld said. “The first five starters are physically and mentally tough. Those coming off of the bench have been giving our starters great minutes defensively, which allows us to rest our starters. I couldn’t be happier with the athletes we have: great attitudes and work ethic.”

This upcoming weekend, the senior boys play at the Guardian Invitational Tournament in Saskatoon.

Senior Girls

The senior girls lost to P.A. St. Mary in the gold medal game this past weekend 55-47. They got to the final after beating Notre Dame 77-68, but the rough game took a toll on the team, according to head coach Bryan Cottini.

“It sure looked like the semifinal battle we had left us a little exhausted and beat up,” Cottini said, as there were over 50 fouls in the semis in a game that took over two hours to complete. “But no excuses… P.A. was the better team on that day.”

The senior girls are done now for the Christmas break. Their first tournament back will be in Yorkton.

Junior Boys

The junior boys Vikings won gold at a Melfort tournament over the weekend, defeating Tisdale in the final 39-36.

The Vikings, made up of nine Grade 9s and five Grade 8s, beat both Weyburn and Meadow Lake before meeting up with Tisdale in the final.

“It was a great weekend and an amazing way to start off our season,” junior boys head coach Jeff Gibson said. “We are extremely proud of our boys for a great defensive effort and in particular, proud of players like Garrett Rumpf, who led the way with taking five charges over the course of the weekend. We have great leadership this year with so many returning players and more importantly, we have a great crew of players that love coming to the gym and working hard.”

This past weekend marked the first time the Comp junior boys have won a weekend junior circuit tournament in over five seasons, not including the 2015 district championships.

This weekend is the annual Vikings Invitational junior tournament for the boys and girls. The first game for the junior boys will be played Friday at 4 p.m. in the main gym against Maidstone.

Junior Girls

The junior girls Vikings also went undefeated and won gold this weekend, taking down Melfort in the gold medal game 34-32 in overtime.

They beat Tisdale and Langham on their way to the finals.

“[We had] great team chemistry the entire weekend,” junior girls head coach Kara Wilkinson said.

The home tournament for the junior girls this weekend will be their last tournament before the winter break. They return to action in the new year with a tournament at John Paul II on Jan. 12-13.

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11

by Nathan Kanter

Vikings basketball teams win 3 gold, 1 silver over weekend

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